Sightings Report: Humpbacks, T100s & T137s September 28th
Date: Tuesday, September 28th, 2021
Location: Strait of Georgia / Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
Weather: Partly sunny, 61 degrees Fahrenheit with 7 mph SW winds
Tide: High tide/Ebb
Pods/Matrilines: T100s and T137
Total Whale Count: 2 humpbacks, 8 killer whales
Boat Count: +/- 6 (5 whale watch boats, BC Ferry)
Behaviors: Traveling
It was a long day on the water totaling a little over 6 hours, but well worth the time. We were able to escape the winds and rain in the Southern part of the Salish Sea and travel into Canadian waters where we encountered a mother humpback and calf, shortly followed by the T100s and T137s not too far away and in front of the Richmond, BC skyline.
On route to our destination, we traveled through Active Pass which is a small strait that separates Galiano Island from Mayne Island and is a beautiful passageway that is slightly reminiscent of small Fjords with the steep rocky shorelines that jet out of the sapphire blue water and are lined with evergreen forests. The pass was named after the United States Revenue and Survey Vessel, Active.
Shortly after traveling through Active Pass, we encountered two humpback whales, a mother, and calf. We spent a few minutes viewing them while they were exhibiting resting behaviors with slow surfaces and shallow dives. After viewing the humpbacks we traveled about 10 minutes East towards Richmond we were encountered orcas!
We had heard reports that the T100s were present, but upon arrival, we noticed more individuals present. At the time the T100s were the only confirmed matrilineal, but our naturalist had suspected the T137s could potentially be the other group. Orca Conservancy’s Tamara Kelley was able to get a photo ID to confirm the T137 “Loon” by a prominent notch at the center of her dorsal fin. T137 is the mother and leader of the T137 matrilineal and has 3 offspring, T137A "Jack" (19 year old male), T137B "Tempest" (15 year old female) and T137D "Wright" (9 year old female). The T100s consist of T100 “Hutchins” (42 year old female) and her offspring T100C “Laurel” (19 year old male), T100E “Tharaya” (12 year old female), and T100F “Estrella” (7 year old, sex unknown).
During this encounter, there were only a few boats on the scene, including a few whale watch vessels (Outer Island Adventures, Maya’s Legacy, Eagle Wing, and Prince of Whales) coming and going at different times, as well as a British Columbia ferry. All vessels remained over 300 yards distance and followed Whale Wise guidelines. No research enforcement vessels were present.
Please note that our videos and photos are taken with high powered lenses that can distort distances causing whales to appear much closer than they actually are.
